Daily Bafflements

• Verizon, the Benevolent Data Pillager that plays a prominent role in the NSA’s operations, is buying AOLwith the goal of “improving ads and Web video content.” Last year, Verizon launched a “tech blog” called SugarString, but hastily shut it down after reports that topics like net neutrality and surveillance were verboten to its writers. Given that AOL owns so many tech publishers, Verizon will be getting another shot at whatever all that was about.

• Baffler contributing editor Barbara Ehrenreich recently reviewed The Rise of the Robots by Martin Ford and Shadow Work by Craig Lambert for the Times. “As both conservatives and liberals have proposed over the years, we need to institute a guaranteed annual minimum income,” writes Ehrenreich.

• What does Elon Musk refer to as “summoning the demon”?

• By all accounts, the most important trend of 2015 for Baffler readers to bone up on is broth. So, this week in Broth: it’s a Broth of Fresh Air.